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Big Think and the Mental Health Channel are proud to launch Big Thinkers on Mental Health, a new series dedicated to open discussion of anxiety, depression, and the many other psychological disorders that affect millions worldwide.

Breathing Walls For Your Well-Being

It’s not easy for most urban dwellers to get their daily dose of nature moving from one concrete box to another. Habitat Horticulture tries to solve this problem by painting walls with plants. The company designs living walls that optimize everyday space, transform it aesthetically, and in addition improve its inhabitants' physical and mental well-being.

Even though vertical gardens are nothing new, it turns out that not all living walls are created equal. Unlike vines, for example, which create damage to the exterior surfaces on the walls, plants in the living walls are rooted directly into a medium attached to the wall. In HH’s case this medium is not soil but porous, mold-free, geo-textile material allowing for root migration throughout the wall. The soil-less system uses 75% less water than traditional ones with soil, and is made from 100% recycled and recyclable materials. The medium itself doesn’t decompose or has to be replaced.

Since the plants are not constricted to a small square box, the designers can literally paint the walls with plants and move around curves, arches or any geometric shape. But the benefits are not just aesthetic. Living walls reduce energy costs for heating and cooling, improve the air quality, diminish annoying street noise or echoes in large rooms and reduce stress.